[forbes.com – 10/21/19] Topline: JPMorgan Chase announced an expansion of its efforts to hire people with criminal backgrounds Monday, continuing the trend of big companies “banning the box” and giving people second chances. JPMorgan Chase hired 2,100 people with criminal records in 2018, which equals about 10% of their total hires last year. The bank knows those people have records, because they conduct background checks on applicants after a job offer has been made. Applicants with criminal records are being considered for entry-level jobs like account servicing and transaction processing,…
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A Q&A on Megan’s Law: Should it apply to child offenders?
Dr. Elizabeth J. Letourneau did the first study looking at the consequences of Megan’s Law on juveniles. She found that kids rarely commit a second offense, and that the people they are most likely to hurt are themselves. She spoke with Julie O’Connor of the Star-Ledger’s editorial board. Below is an edited transcript. Full ArticleFull Article
Read MoreWhen Prison Is A Better Option
[Scott H. Greenfield at blog.simplejustice.us – 10/4/19] Years ago, I wrote of the creation of a permanent underclass. No, not the one woke people are willing to fight for. Rather, the one we’ve created because as much as we can forgive a murder, especially if it was committed by a black man because they’re in fashion at hipster cocktail parties, there is no forgiveness of a sex crime. Not when they get caught. Not when they get prosecuted. Not when they get convicted or sentenced. Not even when they get…
Read MoreGetting Registered
He was a small man, a proud member of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation. He’d worked as a jockey in his youth, and though he had a hard life on the streets, he was still in amazing physical condition. He had run 60 miles through the Arizona desert to Nogales to visit cousins. He often worked as a truck stop lumper or hung around Home Depot hoping for day labor. A skilled roofer, he occasionally scored a job with a roofing company. The jobs never lasted long. With his record, truth…
Read MoreKat’s blog: Hope
When I read the most recent “Janice’s Journal: The Big Picture” piece, it reminded me why so many of us have sought out websites like ACSOL, WAR, NARSOL and other advocacy group sites. Each of us was looking for HOPE. Hope that there were others like us somewhere out there that understood what we were going through. Hope that someone had answers, information or solutions to the mountain of questions and concerns we had. Hope that someone somewhere was trying to do something to change things. Hope that there was…
Read MoreGeneral Comments October 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreKat’s Blog: TN Man Avoids Registry for Second Time
A Tennessee man accused of sexual offenses for the second time, has once again avoided the registry. In 2004, ______ was accused of allegedly molesting a 15 yr. old that had been hired to babysit his children. ______ denied molesting the girl but stated he pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless aggravated assault and a misdemeanor, to spare his family (he is the father of 3) and because his attorney at that time had advised him it was in his best interest. He was sentenced to 3 yrs. probation…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Another Case Against Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey is back in the news. Awhile back I wrote about sexual abuse allegations against him being dropped, he had been accused of groping a busboy at a Nantucket restaurant in 2016. The ensuing civil suit and criminal charges were dropped after the accuser pleaded the 5th Amendment during an evidentiary hearing. It was found that the accuser’s mother had altered text messages on his phone prior to the phone being turned over to police. Now, Spacey is back in the news after an anonymous massage therapist who had…
Read MoreWe spend billions after child sexual abuse happens and nothing to prevent it
For weeks, the nation has been gripped by details surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and his child sex-trafficking operation. An operation uncovered more than a decade ago but badly addressed by prosecutors. Last year we learned that Larry Nasser continued to sexually abuse child athletes for 20 years after the first accusations surfaced against him. Opinion
Read MoreWhen People with Intellectual Disabilities Are Punished, Parents Pay the Price
___ ____, 66, has never committed a crime.But for two years, from six in the evening to six in the morning the next day, she lived under de facto house arrest with her 32-year-old son, Adam. It wasn’t because she wanted to. The home itself was a kind of punishment, she says. Full Article
Read MoreKat’s Blog: A Pariah in Hollywood
There was an interesting occurrence in Hollywood this week. Actor Scarlett Johansson, stood up for actor/director Woody Allen, who has been accused of sexual abuse and said simply “I Believe Him.” Woody Allen has become somewhat of a pariah in Hollywood ever since his now grown adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Allen has consistently maintained his innocence and even after an investigation, has never been criminally charged with any sexual abuse. And yet, many actors including Colin Firth, Freida Pinto,…
Read MoreYou can be part of an anonymous survey on how registration and notification policies impact your life
[University of Nevada, Reno] Have you ever been in a relationship with a person who had to register on a sex offender registry? We are interested in hearing about your experiences. The first 300 people will be entered into a raffle for (4) $100 & (12) $50 Amazon gift cards. Read more about the survey and choose whether to participate [Below is some of the description on their website] Purpose: You are being asked to participate in a research study which asks about your experiences being in a current or…
Read MoreThe Rise of Registries
Earlier this year, lawmakers in New York proposed a bill that would bar people convicted of multiple sex offenses from ever using New York City’s subway system again. The plan, which would inflict a form of banishment in the name of public safety, is part of a broader pattern. Sex offender registries increasingly include children under the age of 18, and some states permit children as young as 7 to be registered. But a growing body of evidence suggests that our reliance on registries—not just for sex crimes but also for terrorism, gun, and drug offenses—may allow politicians to…
Read MoreTen myths about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
[mercatornet.com – 9/12/19] Credible accusations have fallen to an average of one new case per year in the US Sexual abuse perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests has been headline news for years. But even with so much press attention, there are many commonly accepted myths about this issue. Remarkably, evidence-based research doesn’t always receive attention, while sensationalized stories that create a particular—but sometimes false—narrative do. This ultimately misinforms and harms the public—not to mention efforts to keep kids safe in and outside of the Church. On the year anniversary of…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: “THAT” Can Happen To You
We’ve all sometimes wondered, how did THAT happen? How did I or my family member or my friend become tangled up in this whole “sex offender”, registry nightmare? The short answer is simple, S—t Happens. The longer answer is more complex. But the word that I often hear people use when talking about “sex offenders” sex offenses and the registry is “THAT”. A well-meaning friend whose husband is an attorney mentioned that her husband would never handle cases like” THAT”, meaning “sex offense cases”. When discussing a loved one’s conviction…
Read MoreCA: Scammers Target Los Angeles Registrants, Families [UPDATED 9/2019]
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2019: THIS SCAM IS STILL ACTIVE. PLEASE READ BELOW. Aug 4, 2018: Scammers, who often pose on the phone as law enforcement officials, are threatening registrants with arrest and demanding immediate payment of sums up to $3,000 in order to avoid jail or prison. There are reports of this occurring during the past week in at least two different cities in Los Angeles County — Upland and Lawndale. According to the reports, the scammers have told registrants that they either failed to register or registered improperly. For example,…
Read MoreGeneral Comments September 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of September 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreKat’s Blog: New Illinois Law Hopes to Prevent Suicides
Two years ago, Corey Walgren, a 16 yr. old high school student in Naperville, Illinois, jumped off the roof of a municipal parking garage after being questioned by police on his school campus. Corey had been interrogated by a police officer about an alleged sex tape, accused of possessing child pornography, a felony which can lead to placement on the state’s sex offender registry. Records later showed that there were in fact no illegal images on Corey’s phone. Corey had been interviewed, alone, by police at his school. His parents…
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